Verdandi wrote:
mrL wrote:
Verdandi wrote:
Autistic people often need help with everyday things in life. Aspies are functional; we just think differently. Autistic people often must be cared for; no one gives us anything for free. People often don't even believe us. I commend anyone that is able to have the confidence to find such pride. Call them supremacist but in truth we aspies aren't going to take over the world; instead we might eventually find a way to live with ourselves and find value and even acceptance by asserting that we are just as good or even better than NT's. We aspies are kind of like a minority race; its like Asians living in America that don't mesh with the culture. They are stereotyped as smart and come across as socially awkward however its often a cultural gap that separates them. We Aspies are very much the same in terms of a cultural gap; because of our way of thinking, we have our own culture but we are afraid to embrace it. I say it's time we simply embrace who we are and stop worrying about the concept of supremacy because those that insinuate this will likely not make it very far with this assertion. Still, the concept of Aspie supremacy is better than Aspie shame.
By your description here, I should have been diagnosed as autistic, not as AS. True, I have made that statement many times, but I also think the things you are claiming here are
not true for everyone diagnosed AS. There are many who need help with everyday things, and there are many who deal with significant impairments.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that anyone who is "functional, and just thinks differently" probably does not even need a diagnosis. The diagnosis for AS requires:
Quote:
(III) The disturbance causes clinically significant impairments in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
To me, "clinically significant impairments" does not mean "functional, and just thinks differently." It means impairments in functioning that may require assistance. AS is not an identity tag, it is a disorder that can be quite disabling for those who have it.
There is a difference between what Amanda describes as "Aspie Supremacist" and "Aspie Pride." The difference is that the aspie supremacist positions themselves as worthy because they claim to be better than autistic people. True pride does not require tearing someone else down, or saying that they are less worthy as human beings.
If this is your stance, you have nothing to be proud of. Find a stance that doesn't involve claiming to be better than autistic people or doesn't involve saying "At least we're not as impaired as autistic people" because neither claim is remotely true, and both claims amount to essentially throwing one group of autistic people under a bus to make the other group look better and more appealing. I want no part of it.
All autistic people are just as good as NTs. Not just some select chosen few who got the "right" diagnosis even though which diagnosis they received is likely dependent more on where they were evaluated than on what symptoms they show.
General Autism vs HFA/Aspergers are different but yes they are both technically on the same spectrum and I won't debate this further. Researchers still don't know a lot about Asperger's vs general autism. I was pulling my information from the handbook of social psychology and the DSM - 4th edition, the new edition isn't scheduled to come out until may. It's going to be legen, "wait for it, keep waiting; dary".
Verdandi wrote:
To me, "clinically significant impairments" does not mean "functional, and just thinks differently." It means impairments in functioning that may require assistance. AS is not an identity tag, it is a disorder that can be quite disabling for those who have it.
If talking facts, then you are wrong. I am a second year clinical psych grad student and AS limitations do not include impairments beyond social communication,social interaction, Imagination. Motor function delays beyond coordination are not AS for example, variances in speech can occur but not speech delays (speech delays can occur with HFA). This is being revised in the DSM-5 but for right now your definition does not fit. I am speaking based on fact. Grab a copy of the DSM and then disprove my point. If you want a direct quote I can oblige. Even though I am providing these facts, I am still man enough to admit that this might all very well change because HFA and Asperger's may very well be one and the same; infact Autism overall could actually occur in different stages and at different levels; however right now they are still classified differently. If you can prove me wrong using facts then please do. With that said, lets not fight over who is right and wrong because with even the experts not completely certain, this is a subject that is open for debate. You asked for facts so I gave you facts, but I am still not disagreeing with you; the subject is a work in progress.
Last edited by mrL on 16 Feb 2013, 12:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
15 Feb 2013, 11:38 am
